The present invention relates, in general, to building drainage systems.
Conventional buildings typically have footings on which basement or foundation walls are built. Subterranean porous drain tiles are disposed about the outer perimeter of the footings. The drain tiles are typically in the form of perforated pipes which permit the ingress of water from the surrounding soil. Typically, the drain tiles are disposed in a gravel bed to improve their ability to accumulate water from the surrounding area without clogging.
The drain tiles or pipes are generally in fluid communication with a series of interconnected pipes disposed underneath the basement floor. The interconnected pipes or so-called “bleeders” are interconnected to a discharge pipe which is connected to the storm or sanitary sewer.
Buildings are also provided with an interconnected series of sanitary pipes or lines running from the building toilets and sinks. Typically, such sanitary lines have cleanouts in the form of removable caps located at convenient locations to enable the line to be cleaned if it becomes clogged.
To minimize the amount of water which can seep into the drain tiles, exterior drainage systems have been employed. In addition to sloping or grading the soil away from the building foundation walls, drains have been placed just below soil grade level and connected to the storm or sewer system for draining surface water away from the building before it can seep into the drain tiles.
It is believed that improvements to building drainage systems are still desirable.